Chapter 600

“Phew!”

Zeon rose from the wooden bed.

For the past few days, Zeon had been lying in bed, focusing on recovery.

His physical wounds had all healed, but the aftereffects were no joke.

After all, it had been a battle against a dragon.

And not just any dragon, but Reika, known as the worst of them—so it would have made no sense for there to be no aftereffects.

Moreover, Reika’s mana carried the property of destruction.

Because of that, the internal balance within Zeon’s body had been greatly disrupted.

To restore that broken balance, Zeon had spent a great deal of time.

Thanks to that, he was able to return to a perfectly optimal condition.

Zeon opened the door and stepped outside.

“Zeon! Are you okay?”

“Hyung!”

Brielle and Levin were the first to run up to him.

“I’m fine! What about Tesserina?”

“She went back to Neo Seoul first.”

“To Neo Seoul?”

“Yeah! She said she couldn’t relax after leaving her lair empty for so long.”

“Is that so?”

At Brielle’s answer, Zeon made an incredulous expression.

What problem could possibly occur in a lair painstakingly built by a dragon? Unless it was someone on the level of Reika, no one would even be able to invade it.

Saying she couldn’t relax was just an excuse—she probably just wanted to rest comfortably in her own lair.

“How’s the barrier?”

“They said there’s nothing wrong after inspection.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! They even said it’s gotten stronger. It’s probably because Arisedon grew.”

“I suppose so.”

Zeon nodded.

The World Tree and Arisedon were in a symbiotic relationship.

When the World Tree grew, Arisedon benefited, and when Arisedon grew, the World Tree received great help.

With Arisedon becoming a dragon, the World Tree’s power had increased significantly.

Because of that, the barrier had actually grown stronger.

“Where’s Arisedon?”

“He’s up there.”

Brielle pointed to the sky.

Unlike usual, the sky was filled with thick clouds.

As Arisedon became a dragon, clouds naturally gathered around the area. Because of that, rain fell frequently, resulting in the World Tree and trees growing even more lushly.

Perhaps because of that, the World Tree village seemed much larger in the few days he had been shut in.

Levin spoke carefully.

“Hyung, when are we going to Neo Seoul?”

“Why?”

“I’m just worried about the office… and I want to eat the food Old Man Klexi makes…”

As the World Tree was born and the forest grew, the High Elves’ diet also returned to normal.

Before, they had no choice but to eat meat, but once trees and plants grew, they returned to vegetarianism.

Because of that, Levin also had no choice but to eat vegetarian food.

After eating vegetarian meals for so long, he missed the food of Neo Seoul.

Even just eating cultured meat instead of real meat would be enough to satisfy him.

Truth be told, Zeon also wanted to eat a meal made by Old Man Klexi.

Zeon nodded.

“Alright! Let’s greet Lady Latricia and then head back to Neo Seoul.”

“Yes, hyung!”

Levin answered excitedly.

Brielle, who had been listening, spoke up.

“Then I’ll go too.”

“You too, Brielle?”

“I’ve been away for so long, I miss Neo Seoul. I want to go.”

“Then let’s go together.”

“Okay!”

Brielle replied with a happy expression.

The thought of going to Neo Seoul after so long made her excited.

Zeon immediately went to Latricia and said his farewell.

“I will now return to Neo Seoul.”

“You’re heading straight there?”

“I plan to stop by the Steel Fortress on the way.”

“You said people from El Harun would be relocating there, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“You seem so busy that I can’t even ask you to stay longer.”

Latricia looked at Zeon with an apologetic expression.

It felt like she was always indebted to him.

“I pray that Lady Siela’s blessing will be with you on your path.”

“Thank you. Then…”

After saying goodbye to Latricia, Zeon walked toward the portal.

Levin and Brielle were already waiting in front of it.

“Let’s go quickly.”

Brielle said excitedly.

“Alright!”

The three of them entered the portal without delay.

Woooong!

A dizzying sense of floating briefly passed over them, and then the scenery changed.

In an instant, they had moved to the Steel Fortress.

“Wow!”

Brielle exclaimed at the changed scenery of the Steel Fortress.

She was shocked at how much it had developed compared to the last time she visited.

The entrance area used to be empty, but now tall buildings were densely packed.

They were buildings used by dungeon raid teams and monster hunting squads from each district.

Even though they were only four or five stories tall, it was enough to astonish Brielle.

“This is insane!”

“Amazing, right? It’s all thanks to the portal. With the constraints of space and time gone, exchanges are happening like crazy.”

“Still, I never thought it’d be this much. I can’t believe this many people came in.”

Brielle shook her head.

The Steel Fortress was growing even faster than she had vaguely imagined.

“You’ll be even more surprised if you see inside.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

At that moment, a voice was heard.

When they turned, Seo Taeran was walking toward them.

“You?”

Brielle frowned.

Instinctively, she felt a sense of rejection toward Seo Taeran.

Seo Taeran smirked at her.

“No need to be so wary, kid! We’re on the same side right now.”

“Same side?”

“Yeah! Now’s not the time to be dividing sides.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out once you go inside.”

Seo Taeran pointed toward the inside of the Steel Fortress.

Naturally, Zeon and the others turned their gaze in that direction.

Hearing the noisy sounds coming from inside, Zeon got the idea.

“Did people from El Harun come?”

“That’s right. Go inside and see.”

“Understood.”

Zeon nodded and started walking.

Brielle, Levin, and Seo Taeran followed behind him.

As they entered deeper into the Steel Fortress, a large number of people came into view.

They were the residents who had relocated from El Harun.

Some of them recognized Zeon.

“It’s the Sand Mage.”

“So he was here?”

A faint fear lingered on their faces as they looked at him.

They still vividly remembered the immense power Zeon had shown when he defeated the Black Queen.

Zeon stopped briefly and looked around.

Construction was in full swing everywhere.

Most people were busy building houses for the tens of thousands who would stay here.

When they first arrived at the Steel Fortress, people’s faces had been full of anxiety. But once materials arrived from Neo Seoul and construction began, much of that negativity had faded.

They had confirmed that Neo Seoul and the Steel Fortress were not hostile toward them.

For people who had been forced to leave their homes, the most frightening thing was the hostility and discrimination of the natives.

But most people welcomed them warmly and were even helping build their homes.

That alone brought them comfort.

Some had already grown close.

They talked as they worked, drenched in sweat.

Zeon said to Seo Taeran,

“Did Lady Riala bring all of them?”

“Yes. So many came at once that we still haven’t figured out the exact number.”

“At this scale, it seems like almost all the humans from El Harun came.”

“Not just humans—many elves came too.”

“I see.”

Zeon nodded.

Among those working alongside the humans, many elves with pointed ears could be seen.

Far more had relocated from El Harun than he had expected.

As Zeon looked around, he spotted Jin Geumho, Riala, and others talking on one side.

He didn’t know what they were discussing, but the atmosphere looked very serious.

Zeon approached them.

“Greetings.”

“You’re here!”

“Zeon!”

“So you came.”

Jin Geumho, Riala, and Hera welcomed him.

Zeon spoke to Riala.

“Did you bring all the humans from El Harun?”

“Yeah! Everyone who could walk, we brought. Though many died along the way…”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“We all did. Thanks to the elves helping, we were able to reduce the damage somewhat.”

Riala’s gaze turned toward Hera.

Zeon asked Hera,

“Did all the elves come as well?”

“They had no choice. Something happened.”

“If you mean?”

“The Lion King Dantal came and went on a rampage. If we stayed, we would’ve all died.”

“I heard. That El Harun ended up submerged in lava.”

“How do you know that? No one except Jin Geumho told anyone.”

“I have my ways.”

“What way?”

Zeon tried to deflect, but Hera was persistent.

She made it clear she intended to get an answer from him no matter what.

The elves had lost everything and come to the Steel Fortress.

At its core, the Steel Fortress was a human domain.

Although there were elves like Urtian, humans still made up the overwhelming majority.

The humans from El Harun could quickly get along with the humans here, but it was different for the elves.

Even in El Harun, elves had not been particularly close to humans—they had kept them at a distance.

Given that, it wasn’t easy for them to get close now.

They were helping with work, but they couldn’t avoid feeling intimidated.

They needed new hope.

After looking at Hera for a moment, Zeon spoke.

“Someone who can communicate with the World Tree told me.”

“Can you take me there?”

“Not yet.”

“Why?”

“That place is not yet ready to be opened to the world.”

“I see…”

Hera couldn’t hide her disappointment.

Zeon continued, unconcerned.

“Even when it is ready, only a very small number will be allowed in. We can’t accept all elves.”

“That makes sense.”

Hera nodded weakly.

Even in Kurayan, the World Tree had been specially managed by the High Elves.

Ordinary elves couldn’t even approach it.

“Instead…”

“Yes?”

“I’ll try to arrange exchange with the Primordial Forest. There’s a vast forest there as well.”

“Really?”

“The mayor has been there too.”

At Zeon’s words, Jin Geumho nodded.

“A forest so vast it’s hard to believe. Just breathing there felt like my lungs were being purified.”

“Is there really such a great forest?”

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

“Then please send us there.”

“Whether to accept you or not is for the owner of that place to decide.”

“If you allow us to establish ties with them, we will risk our lives to fight for the Steel Fortress as well.”

A resolute light shone in Hera’s eyes.

For the sake of the elves who had followed her, she was willing to fight the other races of El Harun without hesitation.